


Ducks In A Row

by theprincessed



Series: in the middle of a chain reaction (mpreg 'verse) [3]
Category: Emmerdale RPF
Genre: Accidents, Ducks, Family Feels, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 23:32:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12376401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprincessed/pseuds/theprincessed
Summary: A family day out at the park takes a dramatic turn, but luckily practical Ryan is there to come to the rescue.





	Ducks In A Row

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! A random thing I started a few weeks ago when I went to the park with my baby nephew and finally it's finished.
> 
> Hope you enjoy x

An overcast day in the depths of September probably wasn't the best time for a morning out at the park, but Ryan had seen the local landmarks and playgroups one too many times and today seemed like the perfect opportunity to go further afield and explore as Danny also had the day off work. They choose a park on the outskirts of the city that's large, buzzing with activity and set around a lovely lake. They're softly hit by continually falling autumn leaves as they get out Ryan's car, creating an orange and red carpet that slightly crunches underfoot. Whilst Danny stretches from being squashed in the back in favour of keeping Rémi in the front passenger seat, Ryan unfolds her pram and opens the door to take her from the car, easily slotting her into the frame. At 11 months old, she's just started to say certain words like “Dada” and is already fiercely independent and funny in her own unique way. Sometimes he'll find Danny with her sat on his chest, tears streaming down his face from laughter at all her little quirks and expressions.

Making sure they have everything they need, Ryan briefly turns her pram towards the park railings so she can see the ducks calmly swimming in the lake and one adventurous, large, white breed stalking along the path between people.

“What's that, Rémi?” he asks brightly, crouching down to her level as Danny shoulders her bag of tricks behind them and closes the car boot. “Look, it's a duck! Just like this one,”

Clipped onto the part of her pram in front of her, Ryan jiggles the small grey fluffy duckling soft toy that Rémi seems quite attached to lately and which gave him the idea to venture out to this particular park. Next to it is a garishly coloured book of crinkly pages, safe to chew on as she's teething or starts to show signs of getting hungry. It's better than making herself sick with her spit-slick podgy fists shoved into her mouth and he huffs a laugh, knocking her hand away when she tries to do just that, distracting her with the book instead as he straightens and heads for the park's big gates, Danny beside him.

“I bet this is great in the summer,” he says, looking longingly at the pedalos all lined up across the other side of the lake.

“It'll be great today too!” Ryan replies, determined. “I was bored to death going round the same places, even if I did have Lucy and the twins with me,”

Danny looks at him, feigning surprise. “And you didn't invite them? That's so mean!”

“Shut your face!” he laughs, nudging him in the stomach as he tries to put his arm around Ryan's waist as he pushes the pram. “In actual fact, I did but they were busy,”

He feels Danny squeeze his waist and smile, an end to the banter for now, and they stroll in companionable silence as the day shifts between cloudy and the sun sometimes breaking through. As they walk along the path lined with trees, they see the duck that Ryan pointed out to Rémi slow down like it's waiting for them to get past, which seems like a silly thought when there's hundreds of ducks and birds sitting on the grass, flying low or swimming across the big stretch of lake in the middle of the park. He glances at Danny and he's paying the duck no mind, but Ryan still hurries past it just in case it gets any ideas and has one of his own when he sees a playground in the distance. 

“Shall we go in there?”

Danny wrinkles his nose. “Isn't RJ a bit young for that?”

“We always make it work,” Ryan grins and nudges him in the side before striding off towards the entrance.

Amidst the dog walkers and toddlers giving their grandparents the run around is a group of women laying on blankets on the grass. It takes Ryan a second to realise what they're doing and he gets a flashback of a yoga move when he was pregnant and struggling to do it in front of the TV by himself, never mind with friends and their babies. Danny catches up just as they shift position, their children held aloft in the air. 

“That looks uncomfortable,”

“Yeah, believe me, it kinda is.” Ryan laughs, shaking his head at Danny's curious look and moving through the gate.

Once Danny has got into the spirit of things and come round to the idea of Rémi on the swings and the roundabout, Ryan pushing her as she sits happily on Danny's lap and taking pictures on his phone, they leave to continue their walk. Up ahead sits an ice cream van and you'd think from the look of excitement about him that Danny is the child, not Rémi, as he suggests getting them some cones. He 

“Fine, but I'll share hers. There's no way she'll eat a full one by herself,” Ryan says.

Danny points at him, backing away. “Aha! I told you you were mean! Your secret is finally out,”

Ryan drags him in and leans slightly over Rémi's pram to kiss him hard but chaste before sending him off. He comes back with three cones and, before anything can be said, he hands Ryan one and keeps the other two himself. They slow down their walk to eat and enjoy the breaks of sunlight and then stop to sit on a nearby bench, pulling their daughter out of her pram. Ryan scoops some vanilla from his onto his finger and feeds Rémi, sharing the cone with her as Danny eats his way through one and Ryan catches him smiling at the both of them just before he starts on his second.

“I love you y'know,” he says and puts his arm around Ryan's shoulder, leaning in.

“I love you too, baby.”

Their lips touch and the kiss tastes so sweet that Ryan's tempted to lick at the seam of his lips and deepen it when Danny wrenches away with a surprised cry. 

“My ice cream!” he shouts, the offending evil seagull already flying away with it.

Ryan cracks up laughing and, because Rémi is a baby and hears the sound, she starts giggling too. However, Danny seems fixated in his irritation and he tears after the bird before Ryan can grab anything but air. It makes him laugh more and cause tears in his eyes, Rémi so happy standing on his knees, until Danny is halfway down the path and he swerves to avoid a family with a pram and a rambunctious dog on a long lead. The dog starts to streak diagonally out of control and run rings around Danny to tie him up in the lead. At the same time, he fails to notice how his feet is taking him over the grass that's slightly damp underfoot and covered in the autumn leaves that plague the sides of the road. Ryan sees it like it happens in slow motion; Danny slipping on wet leaves and his foot catching on an almost flat tree stump, sending him sprawling onto his front. The dog barks, thinking it's a game, and Ryan shoots to his feet as his heart lurches into his mouth. Pushing the pram and cradling Rémi to his chest, she starts to wail as he breaks into a panicked run and jostles her.

“Shh, sweetheart – it's okay! Daddy just needs - to make sure – make sure - Dada is alright,” he says breathlessly because he can already see Danny rolling on the ground, clutching his knee and his red face screwed up in agony.

Ryan's own gives a pang of sympathy and he disturbs a few ducks and birds with his wild, one-handed driving of the pram to get to Danny quickly. He slows to a walk when Danny pulls his lower body underneath him then staggers to his feet. There's a scratch on his cheek and blood on the blue of his jeans at the knee and Ryan kisses Rémi's forehead to hear and feel her settle down again. He must still look terrified because Danny bends over to keep catching his breath but also raises a hand.

“I'm fine, I'm fine – stupid tree, stupid dog,”

Not willing to get into an argument over semantics, Ryan reaches out for his neck and brings him in for a quick hug then straps Rémi into her pram. “Come on, we're going to sort you out.”

He marches away for a second when he remembers that Danny will probably be hobbling and only feels the tight ball in his chest ease when he has Danny back in his car, sat in the front seat with his legs out. Neither of them want to leave Rémi beside them, so Danny carefully perches her high on his lap as Ryan gets a small first aid kit out of the boot.

“It's really nothing, just – just a scratch - ”

“Shut up,” Ryan interrupts, his gaze flicking up to their daughter. “Just keep an eye on her and let me do this.” He smiles a little, calmer now. “Dr Hawley is on the case, with Nurse Rémi attending. Suspected amputation.”

Danny rolls his eyes. “Oi, I saw your face. You were scared.”

“Yeah, I was,” he agrees softly, seriously. “Don't be so daft next time.”

He watches Danny hug Rémi close and breath her in. “I promise. Sorry. And thanks.” A clean, some ointment and a plaster later and he declares Danny fixed. As Ryan stands, Danny lifts his chin expectantly and he complies with a sigh with a tender kiss, soothing his pain away. He grins when Ryan pulls back. “You'll be doing this for her soon enough,”

“Not too soon, I hope. I don't need to have a heart attack.” The thought makes him break out into a cold sweat and say the first thing that comes into his head. “So, how about another ice cream to make you feel better?”

Danny's smile, looking so in love, is worth it. “Best day ever.”

Despite his partner being a clumsy, silly big kid at the best of times, Ryan has to admit that it's been a good day and hopes for many more like it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, lovelies x
> 
> I'm on tumblr at [theprincessed](http://www.theprincessed.tumblr.com). Come chat to me. :)


End file.
